Bill Slaughter
William Mayfield Slaughter (born February 24, 1939 in Fairfield; died January 14, 2024 in Birmingham) was an attorney and former Alabama State Representative.
Slaughter was the son of Mayfield and Mary Frank Slaughter. He grew up in Homewood and attended Edgewood Elementary School before entering the newly-opened Indian Springs School as a 9th grade student in 1952. He went on to study physics at Harvard College and then returned to Birmingham , where he began working for Rust Engineering in 1961. After two years he enrolled in law school at the University of Virginia. He served as an editor of the Virginia Law Review and graduated second in his class, then returned to Birmingham again to work for Bradley, Arant, Rose & White. He married the former Diana Rediker in April 1968.
In 1969 Slaughter was recruited to Pittsburgh to serve as chief financial officer for the Rust Engineering Company, then in 1971 moved to Beverly Hills, California to take on the role of director of industrial systems for its parent, Litton Industries. In 1973 he accepted an invitation from long-time friend and colleague Wyatt Haskell to start a new law firm.
Haskell, Slaughter & Young grew quickly into one of the city's largest firms. As a trial attorney he was known for bringing expansive historical understanding of legal principles into courtrooms. In 1986 Slaughter was elected Representative of Alabama House District 46. He served only one term, during which he was assigned to the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Education committees. He wrote bills that opened the way for casino-style gambling at greyhound race tracks. He was a delegate to the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Slaughter himself worked as outside counsel for Jefferson County for more than 30 years, defending the county in suits challenging its occupational and sales taxes. He also the county's bond issues for capital development. He also helped to establish and operate the Alabama Trust Fund, leveraging revenues from off-short oil leases for public projects. Later, as an attorney for the Birmingham City Council he negotiated the transfer of the Birmingham Water Works to the Birmingham Water Works Board in 2001. In he represented Jefferson County in the issuance of $475 million in 40-year sewer bonds to fund court-ordered improvements to the sewer system. He continued to advise the county through a series of bond swaps offered as a way to lower payments that were at the center of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and ended up with the county declaring bankruptcy. Slaughter was not implicated in any alleged criminal activity.
Slaughter served on the boards of Cooper Green Hospital and South Highlands Hospital. He was a long-time member of the board of governors for Indian Springs School and of the vestry for the Cathedral Church of the Advent.
Slaughter died in 2024. He was survived by his wife, Diana, and two sons, Hanson and Will.
| Preceded by: - |
Representative, Alabama House District 46 1986–1990 |
Succeeded by: Mark Gaines |